Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is a fantastic opportunity to have both Mr. Ó Lionáin and Mr. O’Shea with us. Before I ask about the specifics of skills and staffing, I will ask another question related to the Department. From seeing a great deal of coverage recently, the witnesses will be aware of the fears expressed that Ireland is starting to price itself out of attracting tourists to the country or encouraging tourism. I am referring specifically to large hikes in hotel prices, particularly in the Dublin area. Something that is impacting the regional parts of Ireland – I am from west Cork, but this issue extends right up the west coast from Kerry to Donegal – is the extraordinary increase in car rental prices. There have been some reports of increases of more than 200%. What can the Department do, and what does it intend to do, to address this situation? Every constituency office across Ireland is inundated with passport requests. There has been a great demand for passports. This may indicate that people are looking to go abroad instead of holidaying domestically. Perhaps there is a price element to this, with people getting more value for money abroad. If so, that would be a shame. We have bounced back and the hospitality sector has a significant opportunity to bounce back, so it is important that we not price ourselves out of the market and make ourselves uncompetitive on the European scene. Will Mr. Ó Lionáin comment on this situation?